Evidentual
by Chiharu-Chan
Summary: 19 year old collage sophmore Kevin Smith reencounters Ryoma Echizen. This time, the latter in a form of the rising tennis star of the world. Kevin x Ryoma
1. Chapter 1

So, yeah. I wrote this way, way, way ago. During Spring Break, I think. My computer is getting reconsfirgured, so I'm now trying to post all my written-but-never posted works up. This, obvious, is the very corny and unoriginal beginning of my KevRyo multi-chapter series. X3 

**Evidentual**  
_Stage One_: Once Again  
**Disclaime**:Tennis no Ohjisama no anime and manga © 2001 Konomi Takeshi. **Evidentual** © Kitori Chiharu.  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summery**: 19 year old collage sophmore Kevin Smith re-encounters Ryoma Echizen; this time, the latter in a form of the rising tennis star of the world. 

**The girl smiled, reaching her microphone a bit farther. "So, Ryoma, why do you think of your last victory against Jack Hilton?" **

The japanese boy merely pulled the hem of his visor. "Mediocre." 

The reporter frowned slightly. "Well, your last valley was excellent, were you playing on that move since the beginning of the point, or was it just a 'momentary' thing?" 

"Tennis _is_ a momentary thing. I can't expect any opponent to do as I wish, you just have to be prepared." He replied flatly. 

"Arg." Kevin groaned, shutting the T.V. off. 

"Oh, he sure looks familiar." Stephanie turned back to her notebook. 

"You've seen him before, Steph." Billy wrapped an arm around his fiance. "The All-Japan junior tournament, remember? He played Kev." 

"Oh." The young women brightened up. "I remember him, he was such a good tennis player. I just didn't think he would go pro, it seems that no one is doing that nowadays." 

"There's a lot of people who doesn't deserve fame." Eli shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "All these actors and singers, they all suck. All you need is a contract label, and anyone can be famous." 

"Ryoma Echizen was pretty good though." Billy flipped through his book. "At least, he was seven years ago." 

"Yeah, but you were better." Stephanie smiled, looking up. 

"Aw, you're so cute when you flatter me. Even if it's true." Billy grinned back, leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek. 

"HEY!" Delphi snapped. "You're not going lovey-doopey on me now. _Some_ people what to pass Physics, you know?" 

Eli yawned, looking around the library. "What time is it anyway?" 

"Four-thirty." Kevin growled under his breath, slamming his book shut. He stood up, dumping all of his stuff back into his bag. "I'm gonna leave early." 

"O..kay?" Delphi blinked. "You sure? I mean, the exam's on Monday and all." 

"I've been studying here and there." The blond shrugged, pulling his shades down. He swung the strap of his bag over his head, leveling it onto his left shoulder. "I'll be fine." 

"Your death, then." Billy grinned, giving him a soft wave before turning back to Stephanie. They watched as Kevin walked out of the library. The door opened as light finally emitted through the cracks, and was gone when it closed again. 

"What's up with Kev?" Eli peered up from his textbook. 

"Bad lunch?" Delphi guessed. 

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Kevin flinched with when the light filled into his eyes. They had been in the library for the past seven or eight hours, cramming. At least he had his sunglasses on, or Kevin was sure he would be blind by now. 

The blond yawned, walking down the many steps of the State-Library. The city of New York honked in front of him. People filling out in front of bus stations, taxis running down the road in the speed of light, and random people selling pretzels on the side of the road. 

The campus was near the center of attractions, and Kevin could easily drift off into countless stands if not for one simple fact. Finals were next week, he couldn't afford to drift off. 

_Not now_, the blonde reminded himself, walking past a cotton-candy stands. He didn't really understand why anyone would start a tourist attraction in the park next to the National Library, but it was also the easiest short-cut back to his apartment. 

There was a soft ringing sound from his bag, Kevin would only slightly make out the sound of his cell phone through the background noise. He easily dug the mobile phone out, popping the lid open before pressing it to his ear. 

"Hello?" He crossed over the mid-section bridge of the walk-through park. 

"_Where are you?_" 

"On my way home." The blonde replied carelessly, exiting out of the bush-filled park way. He looked both sides before quickly crossing the street. A red toyota honked behind him. 

"_You coming to the game tomorrow?_" 

"Probably not." Kevin mentally sighed, making his way down the sidewalk next to the construction site. "Have to cram for the finals, can you just give my ticket to someone else?" 

"_Keviiinnn_. It's the semi-finals, we got 4th row! You know I can't just give the ticket to anyone else!" 

"Sammy, I can't." He repeated, running his free hand through his damp blonde hair. 

"_Oh... Okay, I guess it's no big. The selection changed anyway, I was so sure that Hilton would make it through the last match. Instead of him, now it's that japanese player fighting Ranker._" His fellow tennis obsessor replied. 

"Wait..." Kevin froze, slowing his pace down. "Which Japanese player?" 

"_Eh... Eki.. Ekiten something._" 

"Echizen Ryoma!" He nearly shouted into his cell. 

"_Eh... Yeah?_" 

"Forget what I said, I'm gonna make it." He declared, looking up. His apartment was a few feet in front, reaching its way through the three-story house. 

"_Okay?_" The girl's doubtful voice replied, but was soon erased with a happy outburst when realized that she now had another reason to miss curtsy class. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, I'll ask Esteban to pick you up, okay?" 

"Bye." He muttered, inserting his key through the whole. He slowly pushed the door open. 

"You rock, Kev." His cousin chanted happily as he snapped the lid close. Maybe it was god's way of making it up for his lost childhood, but a few weeks after returning to New York after the tournament, his long-lost aunt from his mother's side finally decided to contact Baker for the parental ownership of Kevin Smith. 

Mrs. Nora Hemming had been his mother's younger sister, who, from what he has heard from his drunken father, had eloped with her boyfriend during her teens. It also turns out that this "bad seed" was now a running a line of hotels and very, _very_ rich. 

This was followed by a nasty lawsuit, introducing countless family members he had never met before who were also so _determined_ to win him from the clutches of 'that madman', as his cousin put it. It was also interesting for the boy to learn that his mother sacrificed her future for her father, and look what that turned out to be. 

In some ways, Kevin had truly believed that his dad did love his mother, but that had been years ago. Maybe the death of his lovely mother was what triggered the man's fuse, and made him mentally unstable enough to start pushing Kevin into tennis, bringing back those old memories of his lost dignity. 

To put it simply, Kelly Hensic Smith's family had been rich. _She_ was rich, which meant that Kevin was also a part-heir to Exxon. Kevin had no idea why his aunt suddenly found the interest to relocate him after all these years, they had more than enough boys fighting for the stop of top heir already, the they didn't need him. Kevin had no former education in the subject, unlike those tidy bastards who had been brought up in mansions, and absolutely made no contribution to their family. 

This might've meant family gatherings with boys he absolutely _could not stand_, but he also got to move in with his aunt in the "richer" part of the city, he could finally have a life. 

"Kevin" Nora would always smile a him. "You _are_ important here, you're the only one keeping us honest. I would hate to live in a society where people honored money and fame more than their dignity, so you're here to keep me in line." 

"What about Samantha?" He would ask in return. 

"Sammy needs someone like you too. Your Uncle and I love her too much to punish her, and we all know she's too wild for a mistress's taste." The still-young women smiled. "She needs you to be blunt and tell her when to stop." 

She was right, of course. Samantha Hemming was beyond what to be expect from an heiress. She loved sports, hated literature, dresses, or anything lady-like. She gets herself into too much shit, and literately needed Kevin to stop her from hurting herself. 

It was that part of his family he hated to love, but now, at least he felt like a normal kid. He had a crazy, no-nonsense cousin who could pass for his twin, a care-free aunt who rocked beyond belief, and a loving uncle who could spoil any kid. 

This also included a full-set of maids and servant at their "house". So yes, Kevin was sent to a privately-founded school with Sammy. He had to put up with people worlds apart from his. 

Was it coincidence, or God was starting to look into his file more. He spotted Stephanie as the shy, not-so-outspoken, member of the yearbook staff. This brought in his re-encounter with Billy, who had been coaching the girl in tennis at the time. 

Entered Eli and Delphi, both of whom Kevin had met at Stephanie's 15th birthday party. Then, entered roomful of crazy people who loved to hate as friends. These rich snobs proved to be a great allies in his insane trip though high-school with people he could actually put up with now. 

That's what landed him where he was now, studying at NYU, pushing his way though the door of the apartment he shared with with a pack of absurd friends. 

"Yo, Kev!" Justin yelled from his position on the coach, grinning. "I took the liberty of deleted the 37 messages you got today. Beat Toni's record." 

"Touched." The blonde groaned, throwing his jacket over the couch. "I'm going to the match tomorrow." 

"Thought you were cramming for the finals." Jake poked his head out from the kitchen. 

"Change of plans." Kevin shrugged, dumping himself on the couch, next to Justin. "Just hope I crammed enough for monday." 

"Kevin" Drew flirtatiously sat onto the blonde's lap. "You _know_ you want to get the pizza for tonight." 

"Arg." He groaned, pushing the red-head off him to get a better view of the T.V. "Stop trying to be gay with me." 

"Pity." Joey smirked, magically appearing in front of his line of vision to the T.V. with his hand on hip. Kevin still can't understand _how_ he did that. "It's Toni's turn anyway." 

As if on cue, the brunette automatically came down the flight of stairs. He blinked at Kevin, about to open his mouth when- 

"No." Kevin groaned. "I'm not fixing you up with my cousin, go away." 

"You're so mean, Keviie." Drew smirked, leaning down backward into the blonde's lap once again. "We just want someone to make out with, share the information of our pointless existence, and to cook for us. Unfortunately, none of us are lucky enough to get a girlfriend or professional cook, so you need to order pizza." 

"But how can I get to the phone when you're on top of me?" He replied in a semi-pout. 

"He's right, Drew." Joey smirked. "You need to stop gloping him." 

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"Master Kevin." Esteban bowed, opening the door to the black, long-stretch limo in front of him. Kevin only yawning, climbing out of the back-seat. 

"Kevie!" He was literally _attacked_ by a mop of blonde hair. After a few seconds of sheering suffocation, being squeeze out of air from his lungs, the girl finally let go. She took a step back before look at him, clapping her hands together. Her crystal-blue eyes shinned under the sun. "You look taller! And skinner!" 

"Yeah, well." Kevin ran a hand through his blonde hair, pulling his sunglasses off. "That's what happens when you don't sleep." 

"Right." The girl smirked, crossing her left arm into his. They made their way into the open-air stadium. "And why is that?" 

"Ew." The young man scrunched his noise slightly. "Not cool, Sammy, we're not going into that again." The guard examined their ticket for a few seconds before letting them in. 

"Well, I'm on a diet again." Sammy declared rather randomly, pulling on the hem of her flora dress, hanging over her designer jeans and held together by a lace of ribbon around her waist. Kevin made a mental note that the girl had curled her hair at the end as well. "I've gain too much weight, now I'm gonna go totally obsessed." The coliseum shaped field glowed back at them as the pair made their way down the rows. 

"You're crazy." Kevin grinned, sating down into one of the seats. 

"At least _I'm_ not starving myself with a house full of gay people." Sammy shrugged in return, pushing the end-side of her dress back before taking a seat. 

"You sound more like Aunt Nora every day." The boy shrugged, pulling his hats on. The match could take awhile, and it was quite hot outside. "None of them are gay..." He paused when she gave him an unconvinced look. "They're bisexual." 

"Same difference!" Samantha laughed, playfully punching him in the shoulder. "But seriously, those people freak me out." 

"That's okay." He smirked. "I'm sure you freak them out just as much, maybe more." 

"Yeah, well, that's enough." Sammy looked foreword, blinking slightly. "So, when is this going to start?" 

"Pretty soon, we're came in pretty late." Kevin leaned back in his seat, silently eyeing the big-screen TV on the top stadium. 

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"Ryoma." Chelsea poked her head into the waiting room. "I would start walking out if I was you." 

The Japanese young man looked up from his position, laying down on the couch, blinking. "Why?" 

"Because you're going on in." His manager looked at her watch. "Three minutes ago." 

Ryoma slowly sat up, grabbing his visor from the handle. He smoothly made his way out the door, pausing for a second when passing by the slightly older girl. "You suck. You know that, right?" 

"Of course." Chelsea grinned, pointed toward the hall leading toward the entrance of the stadium. "Now go." 

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The crowd, mainly the female population, went wild when Patrick Cole entered he court, waving around. Kevin felt annoying to see the guy on the main-T.V, but kept his excitement in. 

"He's such a show off." Sammy rolled her eyes from her position next to him. 

Echizen Ryoma made his way in a few minutes later, looking promptly bored. Some of the crowd clapped, but most were still slightly awed at seeing the Japanese boy. Others only kept quite. 

The situation could have been awkward, if only Ryoma had cared. He easily made his way onto the court, pulling the cap of his visor down. A few testing runs followed, the the match started. 

**One set, Cole to serve**, the referee announced. 

**"You know, I think this is a very exciting course of events." Jake Winston, long time announcer narrated from their top-cube. **

"Indeed it is, Jake." Jesse Martson followed. "None of us expected Ryoma Echizen to be the one playing Patrick Cole. After defeating Hilton last week, Echizen has already made his way up the charts." 

"Yes, well, you'd think that this was just another no-show, but Ryoma Echizen has proven to our judges that he, indeed, is a wonderful tennis player." 

Point, Echizen. Three games to love. 

Kevin watched with intenstiy as the other boy ran across the court, seemingly flying in the air. Echizen has long since traveled beyond the limits of his junior high years. The eight-teen year old has been winning most of points with just serves. 

"He's so good." Sammy whispered from next to him, grinning. The rest of the crowd sitting behind and above them chanted into mumurs. The girl took the chance to turn around. "Wow, there's got to be a couple hundred thousand people here." 

Kevin had been too concenrated on he game to hear her comment. Inwardly, he also noticed something different. 

He was playing with his right hand. 

The blonde smirked silently, leaning over toward his cousin. The girl was holding her program as a fan, above her head for block off the sunlight. "Cole has no chance." 

Sammy only blinked in return, pushing a strand of golden hair behind her sholder. "Really? But he was a favorite to advance to the quater-finals." 

"They abviously didn't consider Echizen Ryoma's entrance, then." 

"You speak as if you know him." 

"Ah... Sort of." Kevin returned his sight back to the game. 

**"Oh, that was some brilliant net play there." **

"Indeed. In situations like this, we would expect it to be a lob. No less, Echizen saw that and stop Cole from processing by getting _him_ up to the set as well." 

Cole return the ball with a smooth backhand, but was caught off when Echizen started gaining speed. In the blink of an eye, his ball landed sucessfully on the end line. 

The crowd went wild as Echizen won the first set, only sparing his oppent a few points in the process. The said boy backed up to he serve line as one of the ball-boys threw the tennis ball toward him. He easily caught it, bouncing it on the baseline a few times before topping in a standing position. 

Patrick Cole straightened up, pulling his headband backward. His feet brushed against the baseline beforeing serving. Echizen return it in a fast forehand. The older man rushed toward the net to return the ball as Echizen hit it toward the end line. The ball flew past the austrain player and landed in. 

"Wow, that was an amazing display of quick thinking from Echizen there." 

"Yes, and his control is so presistand, it's almost impossible to predict his next move." 

"He's so quick." Sammy declared, leaning back in her seat. "And it looks like he's still holding back." The girl was right, of course. Even through the easy returns and smooth serves, Echizen looked like he was just playing around with the other player. 

The grand T.V. only displayed Echizen's taughting smirk even more. 

"This has got to be one of the quickest games I've ever seen." The girl growled, taking another sip of her diet coke. "And to think I wasted a couple hundred dollars on the ticket. What a waste." 

"And whose fault is that?" 

"Hey, I wanted to see Jack Hilton in actions, he was hot." Sammy laughed in return. "Who knew he was going to get beaten in the last match." 

"Well, if you didn't have the habit of pre-ordering tickets to everything." Kevin shrugged, his attention returning to the game at hand. 

"But it's okay, this Echizen Ryoma's just really good. I've never seen anyone win so many points with just serves." She grinned, pushing her bangs back with the edge of her sunglasses. "Besides, he's hot too." 

**Point, Echizen. Five games to three. Cole to serve. **

"You know, we are comming close to the climax of the second set, what do you think?" 

"Well, Cole has showed some amazing handworks on at the baseline and up the set. But I'm not show about his sketchy footwork, and Echizen just looks ready for anything." 

Pok. Cole's last return made connection with the net. 

"And there's that ends the second set." 

"Yes, well, I can not _wait_ for the next set." 

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He threw the bouyant tennis ball into the air, smoothly swining his right hand over in a fast motion. The serve landed in the corner of he serving box, sucessfuly bouncing out of the ratio and eliminating the possibilty of a return. 

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Kevin was ready to get up with the rest of the crowd the Sammy's cell rang. She gave him a finger, gesturing for them to wait for awhile behind snapped the lid of her phone open. 

"Uh, hey." 

The young man looked around as a few people brushed past their row. Not a lot of people could reserve front seats, so most settled with the back. It wasn't that much of a bad idea either. The seats for the back-rows were much less expensive, closer to the exits. And with that giant T.V. on the middle of the feild, broadcasting their every move, it was a better packet deal by itself. Of course, Sammy couldn't settle for anything less than the best. 

"I don't know how long we'll be here though." The girl replied into her phone, taking a glace of herself in her mirrow. "Well, I got this booked for the whole afternoon. There's still three more games ahead... I don't know, the next one start in an hour or so." 

Kevin looked around. True, some of the people stayed in their seat as well. They were probaby waiting for the next few games as well. 

"Well, if Kevin wants to." Sammy replied, tilting her hand sideway to reach her bag. 

Most of the seats were empting out already, Kevin noted. The statium was truely the largest he has seen so far. Maybe not as big as the one of the Jr. Opening all those years ago, but he could hardly remember. 

"Oh, gee, I don't know." Sammy laughed. "I'm meeting over with Delphi next weekend. Post-finals shopping spree, I take it that you probably wouldn't want to come with us. Yeah, I love you too. Bye!" 

Kevin grinned as he watched his cousin shut her phone down happily. "Joss?" 

"Yep. We're gonna go see a movie sometimes soon, I haven't see him in a couple of weeks." The girl replied happily. "Why does everyone I know have to be so serious about the finals." She stood up, ready to go. "Let's get something to drink." 

"Well, most people would like to pass their exams, graduate, and have a sucessful carear without wandering the streets for trash." He remarked, leading them up the flight of stairs. 

"Oh, _please_." Sammy rolled her eyes. "You don't need that. Just have enough of a brain to inherite the company." 

"It's more fun to earn it." Kevin shrugged. "I don't want to constantly relay on Aunt Nora." 

"Yeah, well, you're the only guy we can stand, and I don't want to do any of that either." Sammy shrugged, pushing the door that led into one of the short-cut halls. "I think I saw a vending machine somewhere around here." 

"Yeah, it's over ther-" The blonde when he saw the figure of two people infront of the said machine. The girl, she only looked a few years older than them, was leaning against the wall while typing onto her laptop. The boy was staring at the drinking options. 

"Come on." Sammy snapped her finger in front of his face. "Let's go." 

"Your proformace rate was slower than usual today." The redhead girl declared. "You missed a lot of unnecessary points, and you could've finished the match much earlier." 

"Chelsea." The young man grunted, still staring intensely at the vending machine. "There's no ponta." 

"Oh, why can't you just drink water?" The young women groaned in return, pushing the lid of her laptop close. "You know, like everyone else?" 

"Water has no taste." 

"And it's also good for you. Those Ponta things make you hyper." 

"I'm never hyper." Ryoma declared looking up. He blinked he he spotted the pair of blondes a few feet away. 

"Hey, you're Ryoma Echizen!" Sammy clapped her hands together. 

He pulled the hem of his visor down. "Yeah." 

"I didn't know you spoke perfect english." Sammy grinned, she hooked Kevin's by he arm, pulling him up front. "Kevin speaks japanese too, right?" 

"Eh... Yeah." The blonde boy replied slowly. All he got in return was a small smile from Ryoma. The japanese boy had grown since the last time Kevin saw him. His dark locks remained as they were when he was twleve, his eyes were slightly more sharp and bright. His slim yet firm figure stood tall, but was still slightly shorter than Kevin himself. 

"Yeah, we've met." 

"You have?" Chelsea, who'd been quite up til now, blinked. 

"Yeah, someone I knew a long time ago." Ryoma turned back to the vending machine, frowning slightly. "There's no Ponta." He repeated, again. 

"You're still as polite as ever." Kevin snorted, pushing the boy aside. He easily digged a few coins out of his pocket. "Watch this, brainiac. It's called 'Fanta' here." He easily pressed a few buttons, and a can of grape Fanta rolled out of the opening." 

Chelsea and Sammy watched as Kevin snapped the lid open open, giving Ryoma a smirk before handing the sofa over. The japanese boy accepted it, pulling his visor down once again. "Sankyuu." 

"Now we're even." 

"Totally lost?" Sammy shot Chelsea a look, blinking. 

"Yep." 

"You want to explain?" Ryoma looked up, sipping onto his can of Fanta. 

"Fine." 

--- 

_TBC_

---

**A/N**: Anyone Tenipuri writer needs to know the pain it is to describe a tennis match. I'm a tennis player, but actually mapping out the points of a match, serve, or return is next to impossible without repeating yourself. 

Lots of AUs. The setting is actually in America this time. Am I the only one who remembers Stephanie from the anime? You know, the girl Billy was infatuated with? I actually liked her. 

Fonta -> Ponta. Am I the only one that noticed this too? 

By the way, Patrick Cole and Jack Hilton are not real tennis player. :D 


	2. Chapter 2

**Evidentual**

By Chiharu

Stage two: love of masquerade

---

"So that's how they ran into each other again." Sammy finished, smiling at the table. "Isn't it awesome?"

"Wow." Nora turned side way to smile at her nephew. "Ryoma Echizen is that rising tennis player, right? You never mentioned you knew him."

"His skills are pretty good." His uncle added in, grinning. "Why don't you invite him over and we can have a few matches?"

"Dad." Samantha laughed, cutting through her steak with the sharp knife. "He's a professional; you won't last a minute with him. Right, Kevin?"

"He's okay." The blonde grumbled, taking another bite of his bread. He leaned back to allow the maid to collect his plate.

"I think it's rather exciting." A dull voice spoke up. They turned towards the direction of the end of the dinning hall where the woman had been sitting. His grandmother usually didn't speak up a lot; to cut into their currently conversation of tennis was rather... Odd, to say the least.

"Well." Sammy grinned. "He's a really good tennis player. During the match, he was super fast."

"_Really_." The elderly woman looked slightly amused. "And you say Kevin played tennis with him?" Her tone was almost demeaning.

"Eh, Yes." Kevin quickly nodded in return. His grandmother had long since found extreme interest in taunting the boy; Kevin had a slight idea that it was because of his previous background as apposed to his father. He had managed to deal with her for awhile now; she didn't live full-time with his aunt, but next weekend happened to be Eastern Sunday. Kevin silently cursed the Eastern Bunny for this.

"Yeah, Gramma." Sammy quickly came to the rescue of her cousin. "Ryoma even said they played together in the Jr. Tournament a few years ago."

"I see." The woman's glaze softened upon her grand daughter. "A few year ago. Tell me, Kevin, when was the last time you saw him?"

Kevin slightly cursed the fact that the woman was bias towards his cousin, but nodded anyway. "I was twelve, and I saw him in the New York Tournament as well."

"He was invited to the New York Tournament and you weren't?" Voice intimidating, she smiled cautiously at the boy.

Kevin inwardly reminded himself to count to ten. "Grandmother, he was competing in an international tournament, and I happened to be in the law suit at the time."

"I see." The sixty-eight year-old looked slightly disappoint, returning to her meal.

"Either way." His uncle spoke up again. "I think you should invite him over for dinner next Friday with you; we can play a few games of tennis in the back court."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Nora carefully phrased, eyeing her mother. "Wouldn't he be busy? Besides, I'm sure Kevin has better things to do with his friend than to attend the Easter Dinner-"

"I think it's a wonderful idea." His grandmother spoke up once again, silencing the law.

Damn.

- - -

"Let's play tennis." Kevin declared rather randomly over his cup of coffee.

Ryoma blinked, sipping onto his can of Fanta. "Now?"

"Here's your soup." One of the waitresses intercepted between the round table, giving Ryoma a shy look before going back to the corner.

"I don't know. Sometimes this week?" Kevin looked out of the glassy, front-side window installed in the small cafe. "I just finished exams, so I need some relaxing time."

"We haven't played tennis together in seven years." The Japanese boy replied rather dully, picking up his spoon. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm gonna ignore the fact you just insulted me." The blonde declared, returning his glaze back on the boy-no, young man in front of him. "Let's play tennis Friday."

"Friday." Ryoma looked up. "I'll have to ask my manger, but I'll probably be free. Why the sudden interest in tennis?"

"You, being the pro here, probably shouldn't be talking." Kevin smirked, messing around with his mixing straw. "I've been waiting to ask you though, how did you go pro?"

Ryoma blinked.

"I mean." He quickly explained. "We're the same age, so shouldn't you be in collage or something?"

The raven haired boy fell quite. "Friday... What's happening on Friday?"

The freshmen quickly acknowledge the sudden change of topics; years spent with his grandmother told him it probably wasn't any of his business. "To tell you the truth... My uncle wants to invite you over for dinner."

"I see." Ryoma looked up. "Why Friday? I'm free, but couldn't he have picked a day where there's less socializing amongst people. What if I had a date?"

"Well, you don't." Kevin quickly replied, smirking. "But Friday's when I have dinner at the main house."

"Main house?"

"Yeah, I live on campus with a few friends. But I visit my Uncle's... Manner, every Friday night for a family gathering."

"Family Gathering..." The term easily rolled off the Japanese boy's tongue. "Wouldn't I be interrupting something private, then?"

"Not really." Kevin shrugged. "Besides, my grandmother requested that you come as well. You can't really turn her down unless, of course, you want to wake up on the wrong side of the bed for the rest of your life."

"Your grandmother." Ryoma frowned. "From your mother's side?"

"Yeah." The blonde rubbed his head awkwardly. "She... Doesn't really like me too much. I think the only reason she invited you was because she wanted a chance to make fun of the poor state of the people I hang out with. And since my roommates are all from big families, she couldn't pass down a chance of meeting you, The Free-Lance Tennis Player."

"I see." Ryoma smirked rather unnaturally, setting his wallet down. "I'll come, then. The Free-Lance Tennis Player can't possibly turn down a possibility of being insulted."

"You asked for it."

- - -

Ryoma turned up on the Hemming's Mansion doorstep at about 4:51 on Friday afternoon.

"I'm sorry." The maid smiled apologetically. "According to Mistress Hemming's orders, all unauthorized personal are to report from the back door."

"I'll tell you when I see one of them." The tennis player replied dully, pushing the girl aside as he made his way in through the door way.

"Ah-sir! I can't-"

"What's all that noise?" Kevin chose that moment to come into the halls from the dinning room, yawning slightly at the maid.

"Master Kevin." The girl immediately bowed. "I... He-"

"Relax, Freasa." The blonde smirked. "I invited him."

"Ah." The maid instantly blushed, offering words of apology at Ryoma while bowing down in an unnatural speed until Kevin dismissed her, reassuring the girl that the guest needed to get used to it either way. He turned around to scan the other's choice of clothing: black t-shirt, jeans, watch and wristband. His grandmother was gonna have a ball with this.

"I told you to dress casually." Kevin hissed, leading the way to the main dinning room.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware of the fact that "casual" means church clothing in The Rich's vocabulary." Ryoma replied, voice dripping with sarcasm as he followed the blonde into the ball-room light dinning space.

There were promptly ten or so people already seated on the dinning table; they quickly looked up upon the boys' entrance.

"Hey, you weren't lying." One of the blonde girls quickly grinned at Samantha. "He really is the tennis player from that tournament!"

Kevin quickly took a seat next to another boy, hissing for Ryoma to do so next to him. The blonde was slightly relieved that Samantha's friends had showed up in jeans as well; he himself wasn't dressed very formally to be truthful, but the fact that his grandmother was obviously going to notice that made him edgy.

"Now that we're all here." The elderly woman sitting at the end of the table spoke up. "We may begin. Freasa, bring out the food." The maid quickly nodded, heading towards the kitchen. "Although, Samantha, I am rather surprised you invited so many people. You must help to refresh my memory a bit."

"Well." The girl quickly smiled. "You told Kevin to bring a friend, so I thought I could bring Jake as well since he was in town this weekend." She quickly smiled at her boyfriend. "Well, Delphi wanted to come because she heard you were making your famous pie, and then Eli wanted to latch along. It would've been impolite to not invite Stephanie as well, since she was with us; and of course, Billy tagged along because he's just protective like that."

"It's my fault, really." Delphi smiled politely towards the older woman. "It's just that I love your pie so much the last time you made it; I couldn't help myself."

"Daphne, dear." Julia Hemming laughed whole-heartedly. "You're always welcomed here. And so are the rest of your friends." They paused as a couple of maids entered, setting the plates of food down onto the dinning hall.

"Now." His grandmother turned towards Ryoma. "And you are?"

"Ryoma's a profession tennis player, Grandmother." Kevin quickly replied for the boy. "He's currently in the 68th annual k Grand tournament and-"

"Did I ask for you to speak up?" The woman's demanding tone cut through; the rest of the diners looked slightly apologetic at Kevin. Julia Hemming's dislike towards her grandson was more than common knowledge. She turned towards Ryoma, "please continue where he left off."

Ryoma looked up dully, voice flat. "I've just proceed onto the quarter-finals last week. If things go according to plan, I shall be moved up for the Wimbledon tournament by next month."

"I see." The woman replied in the same demeaning tone. "You are the same age as Kevin, right? I know that most pros tend to swing this way, but do you mind if I ask exactly why you are not in collage right now?"

Kevin could feel Ryoma automatically stiffen from his seat. He quickly shot his friends a look, begging for someone to speak up and cut into the conversation.

"Mrs. Hemming." Quite Stephanie slowly spoke up. "A lot of people wait a year or so before collage so they can pursue after their currently opposition. It's really not very uncommon amongst young professionals."

"Oh?" The women replied, still staring at the Japanese boy. "Then, prey tell, which collage have enrolled you in a temporary out program?"

Kevin was growling inwardly, teeth clutching. He blinked when a hand moved across his lap under the table, silencing him before he could do something to regret about.

"Actually, Mrs. Hemming." Ryoma spoke up easily. "I have a degree in international translation from Duke due to an early acceptance; I fail to see how else we could be communicating other than that." Duke, Kevin paused. That was one of the Ivy League schools; was his grandmother really going to buy that?

"Really. Then you wouldn't mind demonstrating a few languages already. I personally took Russian when I was in collage. Please, I'm sure your talent is quite remarkable already." She smiled slowly.

Ryoma smirked in return. "Madem, possiamo discutere questa tutta la notte sull'oggetto, ma troverei quello rude." The tone easily rolled off of his tongue; Kevin couldn't help but stare along with the rest of the dinning hall. He hadn't been lying.

"Ah." She smiled, satisfied. "I suppose you're right; let's all enjoy dinner, shall we?" The tense atmosphere suddenly lighted remarkably. Kevin could only star at disbelief; amazing, he managed to get the she-wolf to accept while it took him years to get slightly comfortable.

The Japanese boy quickly ate his meal, desert, and asked for a cup of water before excusing himself from the table. The others nodded pleasantly at him before Kevin quickly followed him out the dinning hall.

They paused upon walking into the garden a few minutes later.

"I don't believe you." Kevin spoke up slowly.

"Nobody asked you to believe me; the objective was for your grandmother to stop harassing you and get over with her past offerings before she rot and die." Ryoma replied simply, stretching into the fresh breeze of oak in the yard.

"Not all that shit about your degree." The blonde boy quickly replied. "I just can't believe... You tame her obsession to make fun of people I associate myself with."

"Actually." Ryoma turned around; his featured glowing in the afternoon sunshine. "I've known you for awhile now; wouldn't that be before you met those Friends she, let's say, disapprove of?"

"I don't know." Kevin frowned. "She likes Sammy's friends. Scratch that; couldn't you see she adored them?"

"Please don't tell me you're jealous because she doesn't spoil your friends like the way she does hers." The tennis player replied slowly, eyeing the setting sun as he took a seat on the porch. "Because nothing is ever really fair."

"Ah, I know." The freshmen took a seat next to him, following his glaze. "With my Grandmother... She's not very fond of me because..." Kevin paused; he really needn't to tell Ryoma about all this. "It's a long story."

"I see." Ryoma murmured, pausing to enjoy the moment of sunset. Kevin could almost feel a quite comfort coming from the other boy. "She's not spoiling you because she has higher expectations from you. People tend to do that a lot."

Kevin frowned. "You-"

Ryoma's cell phone chose than time to start ringing. The Japanese boy blinks before snapping it open, pressing it against his ear. "Hello?... Yeah. Okay... She _what_?"

Kevin frowned, exploring all possibilities of this phone call's origin. His mother had an accident. His girlfriend committed suicide. His grandmother died. Maybe he's aunt is in the hospital?

"I have to go." Ryoma cut into his train of thoughts, tucking his cell phone away.

"Eh, what happened?"

Ryoma blinks, as if he didn't expect the boy to ask him about this sudden emergency. "Eh... My manager just reminded me that I had an interview tonight."

"Alright." _Liar_! Kevin wanted to say, but he couldn't. The guy looked worried, and he wasn't in a particular mood to make it worse for him.

- - -

"You know, about that friend you brought to dinner." Delphi spoke up slowly, reaching for another slice of pizza. "He seems very sad. Like... I don't know how to explain it."

"I agree." Stephanie joined in, leaning back on the couch. "It's like he has something to say, but can't take the risk of doing so."

"How did you meet him again, anyway?" Billy spoke up, turning his attention away from the T.V. They're at the weekly student consul meeting. But since none of them were on the student consul, they used that name as an excuse to randomly eat pizza and watch a movie every week.

Kevin blinked. "Run into him at the tennis matches. He doesn't seem that different to me."

"Mmm." Billy took another bite of his pizza. "Maybe his _tennis_ doesn't seem that different to you, but I agree to the fact that there's something odd about him."

"He's right, Kev." Eli waved his pizza. "You're kind of bad at analyzing people."

"I must insist that the conversation takes a turn from criticizing me." The blonde replied, snapping his coke can open. "Whatever's going on with Ryoma... Well, it's his business. If he wanted to tell me about it, I'd know already."

Delphi paused. "Are you good friends with him?"

Kevin blinked. "What kind of question is that?"

"I mean." The girl quickly explained. "Were you guys close before? Or are you two just being civil right now, but neither of you are old enough to admit that you're not twelve anymore? So if you weren't really good friends to begin with, maybe that's why it's so awkward between the two of you."

Kevin frowned. The girl was actually making sense. "You know, I can't speak for him, but I thought we were friends to a degree."

"Well, he seems nice." Stephanie smiled. "Just... A little lost."

"To where?" Eli blinked.

"Figurative language is not your forte." Billy patted Eli on the back, smirking at his girlfriend. Kevin silently wondered about that. Maybe he was blind to body language, but Ryoma did change a lot.

The blonde understood that people change as they grow up, but the Japanese boy strayed very far from the Ryoma in his memories. Kevin's not sure if it's for the good of him or not; Ryoma Echizen is now extremely matured. It was a good thing, but there was also such thing as being "too mature" when you're only nineteen.

"He plays professional tennis, right?" Eli spoke up again, snatching the last piece of pizza away from Billy. "Is he good?"

Kevin paused. "He's pretty good."

"Better than you?" Delphi smirked.

"Let's not go into that." Billy laughed.

- - -

"When's your next match?" Kevin swung his racket around, smoothly returning the ball in a backhand motion.

"Next week." Ryoma took a step back, easily putting the ball back in motion over the net. "Why?"

"Nothing, really." Kevin runs towards the left, slicing the ball into the other court. It landed swiftly behind Ryoma; not the he bothered to stop it. "You just seem to be pretty busy."

"I'm always busy." The other boy shrugged, picking the ball up. He threw it in midair, swinging his right arm around to smash the ball down into a serve. Ryoma was playing with his right hand. The ball landed right in front of the line as Kevin moved up to return it with both hand on racket.

He used too much strength, and the ball went out of the court.

Ryoma picked it up, walking towards the fence. "Let's stop; I'm hungry.

The blonde was about to say the same himself. They had played three sets already; he was dead tired. Kevin honestly didn't expect the other boy to suddenly agree when he had called that morning, asking to play a game of tennis.

Ryoma replied with the fact that he was free and in dire need of something to do; New York was, apparently, boring to him. They met up at a tennis club. The two were originally supposed to pay a small fee to get in, but were set aside to an exception when the manager realized 'Hey! You play tennis on T.V."

"I don't like fast-food places." The tennis player declared rather randomly. "Let's go to a restaurant or something."

"Fine. But you're paying."

Ryoma blinks. "Hey. Who got us into the court for free?"

"Yeah, yeah." Kevin waved it aside, looking around. "Where do you wanna go?"

"I'm not the one that lives here." The Japanese boy replied. "Why don't you surprise me?"

"I feel obligated to inform you that my idea of a perfect meal is an order of extra large pizza." The collage freshmen replied semi-seriously. "So I wouldn't really be the right person to ask."

Ryoma paused, looking around. He quickly spotted something in the distance before turning around towards the girl managing the courts. "When does this place close?"

"Uh?" She blinked. "Uh. Ten at night."

"Alright." He pulled his stuff up and grabbed Kevin's tennis bag out of his hand. "Can you keep this for us? We'll come back and get it before the courts close."

"Eh." The girl blushes. "Well, I'm really not allowed to do that. The boss will get mad an-"

"If we don't get here before then, you can keep my stuff." He insisted, pushing the bags towards the girl. "They're all name brand; YONEX. If I don't come back, you can keep them."

"Eh.." She paused. "Alright."

Ryoma grabbed Kevin's arm before pulling him into a pack of bushes behind the tennis court. The blonde blinks as he is being sneaked onto a parking tour bus.

**INTERNATIONAL REVERSES AND Co**., it read.

"Shh." Ryoma whispered as he climbed onto the back, opening the door. The attendance was standing in the front, going over the tour map of New York. They quickly took a seat in the back, locking the back-door up again.

The attendance was going doing the aisles, checking.

"Quick." The dark hair boy hissed. "Act foreign."

"How to I-"

The woman was now standing in front of them, blinking. "Excuse. I seem to have misplaced you on the list. May I ask for your name?"

"Boku wa Echizen Nanjiroh." The Japanese boy quickly offers.

"Un I ham derman." Kevin adds, smiling foolishly.

The attendance gets the hint and let it go, heading back towards the front of the bus. The driver informs them on the speaker that this trip will be very meaningful.

The first sight was the New York local theater. It was constructed in 1983 and rebuilt after being torn down during the nineties; or, at least, that's what the attendance told them. Somewhere during the narration, Kevin stopped listening. Pressing his head against the window, he apparently fell into a light slumber until Ryoma offered a sharp jab on his side.

"Oww- What?" The blonde looked up to see that everyone getting off the bus. Ryoma was standing in front of their seat, smirking.

"We're in front of New York's 'Number One Restaurant'." The Japanese boy declared. "Or, that's what called it. I hope that's not the actual name."

"That's really nice." Kevin mumbled, going back to sleep. "But neither one of us have any money. This is New York, hell for freeloaders."

"Okay." Ryoma smirks slowly. "Then why are they handing out money as "complimentary offers along the tour"?"

"Alright." The taller boy quickly stood up. "Let's go."

Most of the tourist carefully selected meals off the menu with the money they were offered: twenty dollars each. Kevin silently noted that **INTERNATIONAL REVERSES AND CO**. is actually ripping people off with their own money, but he kept quite.

The two tennis players took one look the menu and started ordering. Beef stew, a chicken sub, some Mexican rice, and a bottle of water. It was a pretty good deal considering the fact that they only had forty dollars put together. And the fact that the money was free also.

"We're going to hell for this." Kevin reminded his companion, picking up a spoon.

"Too late." Ryoma hisses under his breath. "I'm already heading there."

They reloaded the bus thirty minutes later. Ryoma looked impressed with the poverty stricken areas of New York as the bus so glamorously took them wherever. They stopped by **China Town** fifteen minutes later.

"Wow." Kevin remarks quite sarcastically. "This _so_ American culture-like. Very cinematic. It's like the stuff the government never wants tourists to see; and they're taking us here. I admire their guts and attempts to overthrow the Tourist Agency."

Ryoma kept quiet, following the crowd through the stands of **China Town**. The group paused at a marketing center.

"Look at this." Kevin picks up a tennis player profile card off a random booth's stand. "Who in the world is Less Gordon, anyway?"

Ryoma ignored him, paying another woman a dollar for a key chain in the shape of a tennis-ball. It was the money left over from their free-lunch. Kevin still couldn't believe they got away with that, either.

"Hey.." A bright voice spoke up behind them. "I know you! You're Echizen Ryoma-sama!"

The two froze.

Crap, Kevin silently swore. Their cover was blown.

**Freetalk.**

I don't like this chapter very much. Kevin and Ryoma were so out of character, it hurts. oO If you live in New York, I apologize about making up all the stuff about the tour; I've only been to New York once, and yes, I did go see China Town.

Why was Ryoma drinking Fanta and soup together? The answer, I do not know.

About YONEX, I think it's the company that sponsor the sporting goods. You know, that circle-triangle circle-triangle sign we see on PoT rackets and uniforms. I'm pretty sure it's an actual brand, and the YONEX company is sponsoring PoT for whatever reasons that tennis material companies do. XD Actually, I admit that I'd probably buy a YONEX racket after seeing it used in PoT, but I'm just shallow like that.

Thanks to everyone who responded about the Fanta vs. Ponta thing. There's also something I'm confused about, though. If Ryoma's cap used to sport "F"s, why are they now "Rs" in the anime? And since I haven't kept up with the manga, did Konomi-sensei starting using "Ponta" in the manga after the anime was released? You know, for the same reason the anime couldn't use "Fanta"? Questions, questions.


	3. Chapter 3

**Evidentual**  
_Stage Three_: Premise  
**Disclaimer**: Tennis no Ohjisama no anime and manga © 2001 Konomi Takeshi. **Evidentual** © Kitori Chiharu.  
**Rating**: PG  
**Summery**: 19 year old collage sophomore Kevin Smith re-encounters Ryoma Echizen; this time, the latter in a form of the rising tennis star of the world.

Echizen paused, scanning the girl over. Her arm warmers and fishnets immediately gave her away as another Otaku. "Yes. Who are you?"

"Can I have your autograph!" She squealed, nearly deafening Kevin.

The Japanese tennis player nodded, patting the back pockets of his jeans. "Do you have paper and something to write with?"

"Yes!" The girl cheered, digging through her purse before pulling out a pen as some loose-leaf paper fell out. She shoved towards Ryoma's general direction, eyeing the scrap paper that fell on the ground.

"I'll get it." Kevin offered; the girl was wearing a skirt anyway. He didn't want random girls to be flashing at Ryoma. The blonde paused when he read the writing on the paper, handing it back to the girl. They were tennis strategies and some notes. "Do you play tennis?"

"I love tennis!" She grinned. "I used to be on the school tennis team too!"

"For your high school team?"

"What?" She blinked. "No! I'm in college!"

Kevin and Ryoma turned around, exchanging looks. The girl wasn't as convincing as she sounded, seeing that she was at least two heads shorter than both of them. The oldest she could probably be was a freshman in high school.

"_No_." The blonde grinned. "Where do you go to school."

"UCA!" She declared, holding onto the signature Echizen had just returned to her. "I'm 23! I'm a junior!"

Kevin choked.

Ryoma grinned slightly, giving the other boy a hard pat on the back. "You're older than us, then."

"You're one of my upperclassmen?" The American boy eyed her suspiciously. "How come I've never seen you on campus before?"

"Well." She shrugged. "I'm not exactly tall, you know." She paused. "Oh, I'm late for my bus!"

Before either boy could speak up, she ran towards the other direction of the bus stop.

Ryoma paused. "You didn't even ask for her name."

Kevin blinked. "I didn't think it was important. Besides, I'll see her again." He paused. "_If_ she wasn't lying, that is."

The Japanese boy shrugged. "We should be heading back; the tour bus is leaving anytime soon. Considering the fact that I have no clue where we are, we might not want to miss it."

Kevin shrugged, following the other boy as they went back to the tourist group. They sat silently on the ride back, slightly contemplative. For the first time, Kevin realized that Ryoma probably had many fans; he was a celebrity. Was the gap between the two of them so much greater now?

"Hey."

Kevin looked up.

"This should be our stop. I think the tennis court is close by." Echizen declared, peering out the window as he stood up. "They still have our tennis stuff."

The blonde nodded, following him off the bus as they head back towards the tennis courts. The court owner greeted them cheerfully, offering compliments to Ryoma while Kevin watched idly. After seemingly forever, he finally offered them their tennis bags back.

The sun was setting by the time they left the courts. Kevin swung his bag over his back, ready to head home before Ryoma finally spoke up. "Hey!"

Kevin turned around, blinking as he caught something thrown his way.

Standing in front the bronze sky of setting sun, Ryoma gave him a shrug. "Come to my game tomorrow." Then he was gone.

The blonde paused, looking down into his hands. It was two tickets tied together with a rubber band for added weight.

**

* * *

**

"So, how was your date with Ryoma Echizen last night?" Samantha declared, taking a seat on the kitten counter.

Kevin nearly hit his head on the top of the cabinet door as he searched for something to eat. Turning around, he stared at his cousin. "Wait. _What_?"

"Why did you crash here last night?" The girl grinned cheekily.

"The tennis court and stadium is at least an hour closer if I stay here." Kevin shrugged, opening the refrigerator. "I got back pretty late last night." He paused. "He gave me two tickets to his game today."

"Too bad we already have reserved seats for the entire season." Samantha randomly pulled off a piece of lint from her nightgown.

"I guess he didn't know that." The boy sighed, taking out a loaf of bread and a bar of cream cheese.

"You like him." Samantha pointed out plainly.

"I probably do." Kevin shrugged, pulling out a plastic knife as he spread the cream cheese over a piece of the bread. His attraction towards the Japanese boy had always been something related to rivalry. Now that he was no longer playing tennis, Kevin was still obsessed with him. He just didn't understand.

"Does he know that you like guys?"

Kevin paused, throwing the rest of the bread back into the refrigerator. In reality, he didn't actually _like_ guys. He prefers girls over guys, but he didn't see anything wrong to being attracted to men either. "He probably doesn't. Why are you asking me this stuff?"

"Oh, I don't know." Samantha shrugged, kicking her feet around. "I'm worried about your love life. It's so… Well, non-existent."

"I like it that way." Kevin replied gingerly, taking a bite out of his bread as he poured himself a cup of milk. "I don't need him to know that much about me."

"Don't be so bitter." The girl frowned. "He probably likes you more than you think. Guys are just ignorant like that. How do you that he's not interested in men?"

"Well, it's assumed upon first meeting that someone is straight."

"That's stupid." She wrinkled her nose. "You weren't always bisexual either. There's nothing _wrong_ with it."

"But it'd be so awkward." Kevin frowned.

"Wow, you _really_ like him." Samantha paused. "Or else you wouldn't be so concerned about what you think. I mean, heck, why wouldn't you just sleep with him and decide whether he likes you or not afterwards?"

"I'm not you, Sammy."

"Okay, you're starting to annoy me now." The girl declared, pushing herself off the counter. "Just go and watch him play. I'll give your ticket to someone else, Kay?"

"Right." Kevin looked up from his milk.

"Oh, also." Samantha turned around as she headed out. "Don't be so _shy_ around him! It's silly!"

**

* * *

**

"Hey, you!" Chelsea waved towards Kevin. "Sit over here!"

The blonde paused, looking around to make sure that the girl was talking to him before he walked towards her. "This is the VIP booth."

"I know it is." Echizen's manager blinked at him. "He gave you a VIP ticket, didn't he?"

Kevin paused, scanning the ticket over as he sat down next to the redhead. "I guess."

"How do you think this game will come out?" Chelsea grinned, leaning on her elbows.

"He'll win, of course."

"I know that." The girl laughed. "I wouldn't manage someone without talent. But the other player is pretty good as well. How many points do you think he'll mange to take from Ryoma?"

"About one or two games." Kevin shrugged. "But those will be loose points, so he'll still be beat easily."

"I think he'd probably perform better today." Chelsea declared. "After all, he usually doesn't slack off when he has someone to impress."

The blonde blinked, rubbing his head. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"What?"

Well, that came out wrong. It was the first thing that had come to Kevin's mind at the mention of impressing someone. He didn't mean to quote it as a nosy comment. "I mean-"

"No." The girl smiled. "Well, don't quote me on this, but I don't think he has a girlfriend. Or at least, none that I know of. Although he doesn't strike me as the dating type, you know?"

"Right." Kevin muttered silently.

"Do people ever tell you that you're negative?" Chelsea raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Right." The manager laughed, turning to the court. "The game is about to start."

**

* * *

**

"That was some great performance!" Chelsea declared happily, handing Echizen a towel as he sipped onto his water bottle. "You didn't let him get away with a single point. That was even better than my data predicted!"

For a second, Kevin thought he saw Ryoma turn his glaze towards him. It soon faded away, though, and the blonde shrugged it off.

"I mean, man, his manager looked so _pissed off_!" The girl went on. "They have to give you some more credit at the next meeting! Me too, for managing a newbie. No offense, though."

Echizen shrugged. "It wasn't anything serious."

"You played him with your right hand." Kevin smirked.

"I haven't needed to play anyone with my left hand up to now." The Japanese boy shrugged, digging into his towel. "I'm bound to face some _good_ players at one point or another in this tournament."

"You better not let anyone else hear that." Chelsea frowned. "Or they'll start another flame war. The last one was bad enough; we don't need to relive something like that again."

"Flame war?" Kevin blinked.

Chelsea and Ryoma exchanged looks before the boy finally spoke up. "It's nothing. You don't need to know about it." The girl gave him an odd look, but kept silent.

"Well, I'm off." The girl declared. "I have another meeting with the publisher of a magazine that wants you to be featured in. We still need to work out the deal, so I'll see you boys later."

Kevin nodded as they watched her head out of the dressing room. Pausing, he turned around. "You did well today."

Echizen shrugged. "It's nothing."

"What are you going to do after this?" The blonde questioned. "If you win this tournament?"

The Japanese boy raised an eyebrow. "I'll enter in another tournament, and win that one. I'll continue entering in tournaments until I become number one."

"I see." Kevin paused. "So you're not planning to go back to Japan anytime soon?"

"No." Ryoma looked down at his feet. "Not yet. I won't go back until I've become number one. Then there'd be no point of me coming here."

"Ryoma."

"What?"

Kevin narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding?"

"There's nothing for me to hide." The dark-hair boy sighed, reaching for his tennis bag. "Also, if I felt the need to tell you about something, you would've known about it already."

"There's obviously something on your mind." The blonde eyed him suspiciously. "I'm not stupid, you know. You're never stressed out about tennis, so I'm bound to think that you're having relationship problems or some secret you're hiding from the world."

"How about both?"

"What?" Kevin blinked.

"What I'm trying to say is this." Ryoma sent him a sharp look. "What would you know about me? You don't know me well enough to randomly come to these types of conclusions. Even so, it obviously has nothing to do with you."

"Right." The blonde whispered. "Right."

Echizen bit his lip. "That's not what I meant."

"Of course it isn't." Kevin replied, grabbing his coat.

**

* * *

**

"Kevin, what's wrong?"

Samantha remained quite, focusing on her food. "Why are you back so soon? I wanted some alone time with Stephanie to hang out."

"That's not nice." Stephanie frowned. "Kevin, do you want to talk? You don't look very happy."

"Well, that's a nice observation, isn't it!" The boy snapped, throwing his jacket onto the floor as he headed upstairs.

"What was that all about?" Stephanie sighed, turning back towards the other girl.

"He doesn't need us to comfort him." Samantha shrugged. "It'd just be pointless anyway. Kevin's not the type of person who comes to people for his problems. He likes to deal with them himself."

"Wel-"

Both girls paused as Kevin came dashing down the stairs once more. He grabbed the coat on the floor and headed straight out the door. "I won't be coming back tonight!"

"See?" Stephanie grinned. "He solves his problems by himself."

**

* * *

**

Echizen sighed, opening his door to face the glaring blonde.

Kevin held up his phone. "Why did you text me your address?"

"You came, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still mad at you." The blonde declared. "Aren't you going to invite me in? It's cold out here."

Ryoma stepped aside from the doorway. "You said you wanted to know what's going on with me. Here it is, so don't be too shocked. Come in."

Kevin paused, taking off his coat as he stared at the little girl playing in the living room of the apartment. "Who's that?"

"Her name is Raine." Echizen closed the door, leaning against the wall. "She's my daughter."

Kevin paused. "What?"

"I told you." Ryoma shrugged, pulling a random chair to sit on. "Take a seat and I'll tell you the entire story."

The blonde paused, not exactly sure of what to say as he sat down on the couch.

"Do you remember Ryuzaki? She was one of my coaches for the junior American tournament."

"I think so."

"Her granddaughter, Sakuno, is Raine's mother."

Kevin paused. "That makes no sense. She's looks around four. You couldn't have been sixteen when she was born."

"Why not?" Echizen eyed him dully. "You don't have to be put a particular age to have sex with someone. Can I continue with this before you ask me any more questions?"

"Right, right."

"Sakuno was my girlfriend throughout junior high school, so when I found out that she was pregnant, I told her to abort the baby." Ryoma began, running a hand through his hair. "She wasn't the kind of girl to hurt anyone, so she refused and dropped out of school. She didn't want the news of her pregnancy to disrupt her family name, so she began getting tutored at home while I was under the impression that she had already taken drugs to get ride of the baby.

"It's just that. I don't know. Getting her pregnant would just ruin her entire future. She doesn't deserve it, yet she went along with it. When the time came, she didn't want to go to a major hospital to give birth, so she got a family friend to help her." Ryoma sighed, digging his face into his hands. "I think it was raining that day when she gave birth to Raine, so she asked me to name her. By the time she had the second twin; it was no longer storming, so she named him 'Sky'." He sighed. "It was my entire fault."

". . . She had twins?"

"Yes."

"Where's the boy, then?"

"He's in Japan, with his mother."

"What the fuck!" Kevin threw a coach cushion at Ryoma. "You made it sound like she died at childbirth or something with your depressing mood!"

"Was I suppose to be all cherry and happy about it!" Ryoma stared.

"Well, no, but…." Kevin paused. "Why in the world is Raine here with you, then?"

"I don't plan on doing back to Japan until I become number one, Kevin." Ryoma stood up, looking out the window. "That may take years. When I first left Japan, my father, that old bastard, told me that I had to take responsibility and take one of the twins with me." He paused. "I wanted the boy, but wasn't it bad enough that I got her pregnant? I destroyed her future and her childhood. A boy would be a better tennis player, but she needed him a lot more than me. I owed it to her."

"So, your wife is waiting for you back in Japan?" Kevin stared at his hands.

"She's not my wife." Echizen spoke up. "We never got married."

"You really are a bastard." Kevin sighed. "When you get a girl pregnant, the right thing to do is to marry her and start a family, you know."

"She told me not to." Ryoma sighed, facing the window. "She told me not to marry her out of sympathy."

"But didn't you love her?" The blonde frowned.

"At the time, I did." The Japanese boy replied dully. "Not anymore, though. She's with someone else now; he's helping her support Sky. He makes a much better father than I do."

"What about Raine?" Kevin stared. "She's just going to stay in America with you when you don't even want her to begin with?"

The girl, who had been long forgotten, looked up almost as if she understood their conversation.

"I do want her." Echizen paused. "But I don't know how to take care of her. She's already four. In a few years she'll grow up and decide that she hates me and leave."

"Why would she hate you?" Kevin looked up, giving Raine a soft pat on the head. "Does her mother hate you?"

"No, but I wished she did." The dark-hair tennis player replied. "It would've been a lot better. If she had hated me, I would've felt less responsible for all this."

The room fell silent as Raine giggled.

"What do you want me to do?" The blonde questioned.

"Nothing." Echizen shrugged. "You wanted to know about the cause of my annoyance and I told you. I don't expect anything out of you."

"Do you really think you can hide something as big as this from the press? They'll go crazy when they learn about your lovechild. Love children, even."

"As long as you don't blab about it, I don't see the danger of the situation." Ryoma replied. "She's still got a few years before she has to attend school."

"Who's taking care of her?" Kevin sighed. "Have you been leaving her alone here while you're away?"

"No. Chelsea comes over sometimes."

"She's your manager, not your babysitter." The American boy leaned back on the couch. "One of these days you'll both be busy. Then you'll hire some untrustworthy person to baby-sit, and they'll probably leak it to the press."

"Don't you have any relatives that can take care of her?"

"They're all in Japan." Ryoma gestured for Raine to come over. "The only person, besides Chelsea, that I even really know here is…. You."

"Then what does that make me?" Kevin blinked.

"Stupid." Echizen declared. "For getting involved with me." He turned to the girl standing in front of him, straightening out her shirt.

"That doesn't make me stupid. It just makes me a good friend." It also made Ryoma off-limits.

"Does it really?"

Kevin looked up at the ceiling. "Theoretically, this has nothing to do with me. But since I like you, I'll help you out."

"What are you proposing? The most you can do is to tell the press that she's _your_ daughter."

"You're really not funny, Ryoma."

"I wasn't trying to be funny."

"That's some nice asinine rationalization there." Kevin smirked. "Now that's said, what now? Do I have to help you change dippers or something?"

"She's four years old. She doesn't wear dippers."

"Well, I don't know anything about taking care of kids!"

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

Evidentual 

**By**: Chiharu-chan

**Disclaimer**: Prince of Tennis is copyrighted to Konomi, Shounen Jump, TV Tokyo, Viz, etc.

**Chapter**: 4

* * *

"Bad news." Chelsea crossed her legs, looking at him expectantly as she flattened out the wrinkles on Raine's sundress. "You have a conference next week."

Ryoma paused slightly, kicking his shoes off. "So?"

The girl sighed, picking up Raine as she set her on her lap. "It's in Tokyo. The Japanese news media have scheduled a conference with you to discuss your success. It's good for publicity, so you shouldn't miss is. Also, a lot of sponsors will be there watching you. It'll be ridiculous for you to miss out. It's a win-win situation."

The tennis player paused. "What time?"

"Next Monday." She sighed. "That's four days away from now."

"I'll start packing."

"Ah, but there's a catch."

Echizen raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said it was a win-win situation."

"It is; had they consider something more important." Chelsea frowned. "They only gave us two tickets for you and me. All the interviews and public appearances will take about a week. Who'll take care of Raine?"

* * *

"I can't." Kevin deadpanned. "I have roommates, five of them." He paused, as if adding an after-thought. "And I wouldn't trust any of them." 

"You're the only one I can ask." Ryoma declared dully, leaving no other space for argument.

"Take her to a goddamn daycare." The blonde glared, setting his pen down. "In fact, ask your manager to do it, then it wouldn't be so suspicious. It's not that big of a deal." He turned his attention back onto the assignment at hand.

"I don't trust them." Echizen leaned over the table, slapping Kevin's textbook closed, earning another look of annoyance from the blonde. "If it's not that big of a deal, why don't you do it?"

Kevin groaned, running a hand through his hair. "I have classes, you know. I don't have the time or energy to take care of her; I can barely take care of myself!"

The Japanese boy remained quite for a moment. He pulled the hem of his hat down –Kevin had no clue why he was even wearing that; it wasn't even sunny out on campus-, almost in a disappointed fashion. "I'll find someone else."

Had Kevin known that Ryoma was dead serious about finding someone, he would've never let the other boy stride promptly across the University Campus, and making Kevin himself feel slightly inadequate for letting him do so.

This became even more evident when he came face-to-face Sakuno Ryuuzaki three days later, when he had finally given up on finishing the remaining of his essay before dawn and made a quick dash out of his living room, paying no regards to the fact that the money he paid for taxi was supposed to be his lunch money for the rest of the week.

The girl –she didn't look a day older than sixteen- smiled unsurely, biting her lip as she stepped aside to let Kevin into the apartment, quickly scanning the halls behind the boy; Kevin had no clue what she was looking for, stalkers? Reporters?

"I knew you would come." Echizen didn't bother to look up as he continued packing, picking up a pair of jeans from the floor with little care. Kevin could see a small line forming on the edge of the other boy's lips, a smirk. "I rethought my position."

"And?" The blonde tapped his feet on the hardwood floor, never mind the fact that his tennis shoes were completely drenched from stepping through a puddle on the way to find a taxi.

"I wouldn't trust you with Raine." The Japanese boy shrugged, nodding towards the girl who was currently looking between the two of them, obviously confused. "So I called her over."

Kevin frowned, turning towards the said girl. "Who are you?"

"Ah!" The brunette blinked, glancing around her to see if the question was aimed at someone else. Kevin quickly came to conclusion that the girl was way to shy; he didn't like her. "Um.. I." She turned over towards Ryoma, as if asking him for a reply.

"Kevin understands Japanese."

"_I'm Ryuuzaki Sakuno_." The girl bowed, her hair –it was way to long for Kevin's taste- brushed unnaturally against her back. "_I'm Raine-chan's mother. Um.. Ryoma-kun's… Um.._"

Kevin raised an eyebrow in amusement, eyeing the obviously noticeable ring on the girl's finger as he paused slightly. "Fiancée?"

"Not mine." Echizen quickly mumbled in English, earning a confused look from… Kevin paused. Sakura? Nevertheless, he noticed the slight annoyance in Ryoma's tone from the previous statement. "_Sakuno-"_ Ah, right. "_We're just friends. I don't want Fuji-sempai to hunt me down."_

"Fuji?"

"She's engaged." The tennis player replied. "To Syuusuke Fuji. Do you remember him?"

"I think so." Kevin folded his arms together. He switched his attention back onto Sakuno, who happened to look slightly relieved form being ignored at the moment. "You're here to look after Raine?" After receiving a hesitant nod, he sighed, leading for the door. "Well, my use here is gone. I need to finish my homework so-"

"Kevin-"

"What?" The blonde snapped, surprising himself. He didn't think he would be this jealous… No, Angry, that's right, angry, from meeting the woman who bore Ryoma's children. The thought itself disturbed him.

"She understands English, but she can't speak it." The raven-hair boy replied. "You have to help her around the city."

"Your manager-"

"Is coming to the conference with me."

"I have class." And it was back to square once. The same excuse, over and over again.

When no one in the room spoke up, Kevin headed for the door. He silently noticed how his step was short and haste, almost as if he was waiting for someone, anyone, to stop this action. His hand traced around the metal of the doorknob, ready to open the door when Ryoma finally cleared his throat.

"Then why are you here?"

"I-"

"Kebiiinnnn." Raine pulled onto the blonde's head, attempting to drag him away from the door as she nearly tripped over the rug in the process, giggling to herself. "Come on!"

"_What's your mobile phone number, Kevin-kun?"_ Sakuno smiled with surprising confidence, gently sliding Raine's hand off of Kevin's arm. "_I have Ryoma-kun's cell phone for now, so at least give me your number so I can contact you… Um, in case of an emergence."_

And for the moment, Kevin couldn't help but feel the guilt emitting from Ryoma. The way Sakuno's smiled so gently, offering him her complete trust. It made Kevin feel so guilty of leaving such a young woman alone.

At that time, Kevin really thought he could actually understand Ryoma, even for a fleeting moment.

* * *

Kevin frowned to himself, rubbing his eyes as he made his way towards Biology. There was a slight dragging in his steps. For one thing, he hadn't slept very much in the last few days. Personally, he blamed Echizen. The blonde sighed, leaning down as one of his textbooks fell out of his grasp. 

Looking up, he blinked at a hand stretched towards him, holding out a can of soda.

An Asian girl grinned back at him, holding the soda up to his face. "Here, take it. Press it against your eyes and it'll help with the bags under your eye." She paused. "At least, I think it will. It always worked for me, except for that one time where-" She laughed. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

Kevin stared. "Who the hell are you?"

The girl pouted. "You're mean."

The blonde sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was tired, hungry and thirsty. Reaching up, he grabbed the can of soda from the girl's hand. "No, seriously. Who are you? Do you have me mistaken with someone else or something?"

"Don't you remember me?" She frowned.

Kevin paused, snapped the soda open as he scan through his memory bank. Turning to look down at the girl, he blinked. "You're the fan girl we met last week."

'That's me!" She grinned. "And you're Kevin Smith!"

Kevin nearly choked on your soda.

"I'm not a stalker." The girl reassured him, laughing. "I just happened to remember you from seven years ago! You were in the Jr. tournament, right? You played against Kirihara and Echizen both!" She grinned. "Which is kind of funny since both Kirihara and Echizen are professionals, and you're just a lowly college student."

"What's your point?" Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, I'm not trying to be annoying." She grinned. "It's just that I've always been a fan of tennis ever since middle school, and Seigaku was always such a competitive school." She paused. "You remember Seigaku, right?"

"Eh.. Who in the world are you, anyway?"

"I'm kind of surprised Echizen didn't recognize me at first, but yeah. I'm Osakada. Osakada Tomoka!"

Kevin paused. "I've never heard of you."

"That's rude!" Tomoka frowned. "For your information, I was the head of Echizen's fan club during middle school!"

"Just middle school?" The blonde raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I moved away during high school." She frowned. "I heard a lot of stuff happened then, but I didn't have a way of going back to Japan at the time, which is horrible. Don't worry, though, I'm not a fan of Echizen anymore."

Kevin blinked.

"I guess, I was." She shrugged. "I lied about my age, but I wanted to see if he would recognize me. I guess he didn't; he was always ignorant like that."

"But you were a fan of him."

"I was." Tomoka frowned. "Until he got my best-friend pregnant."

"Sakura?"

"Sakuno." The girl sighed. "I haven't seen her in years. The poor girl!"

Kevin smirked, flipping his phone open as he scanned through the address there. Coming across Echizen's cell phone number, he look up at the girl. "You're in luck, then."

* * *

"Lunch." Chelsea declared, pushing the plate of food towards Ryoma. 

The tennis player, in return, lowered his baseball cap before taking a look out of the airplane window. "I'm not hungry."

"Worried about Raine?"

"No. Nothing will happen to her." Sakuno was there, after all. Although she wasn't the most reliable with directions and easily scared, she did give birth to the girl, and Ryoma could at least give her some credit.

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

Chelsea shrugged, opening her bottle of orange juice. "Are you going to visit Sky while you're in Japan?" She paused, eyeing the boy slightly. "You are his father, after all. Besides, it'll give you time to reacquaint with your old friends."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

"_She looks a lot like him_." 

"_I know_." Sakuno smiled, watching as Raine ran across the room.

The room fell quite as Kevin suddenly poked his head out of kitchen. "I'm trying to find some coffee in the kitchen. Eh, do you know where it is?"

Sakuno shook her head while Tomoka laughed. "Does he even drink that?"

Kevin shrugged, heading back into the kitchen.

Tomoka turned towards her long-time best friend. "_I'm sorry_."

Sakuno blinked slightly. "_Why_?"

"_For not being there when you needed me_." Tomoka frowned. "_I mean. I heard the rumors, too, you know. Horio told me. I think that was when I was still dating him, but we broke up because I refused to believe him. If I knew it was true then._" Her eyes clouded up. "_I would've came back to see you, I would have! Trust Me_!"

"_Tomo-chan_." Sakuno smiled as Raine jumped onto the sofa next to her. "_I trust you. And none of this is your fault, so please stop apologizing. I think, even if you hadn't left Japan, I would've still loved Ryoma-kun that much_." She patted Raine on the back as the girl hiccupped.

"_But he ruined your life_!"

"_What do you mean_?"

"_You had to drop out of school because of him_!" Tomoka frowned. "_Then you had to take care of your twins, and… And he ruined your life and your future! And now look at him, still playing tennis like it's nothing! He didn't even ask you to marry him_!"

"_Don't say that_." The calmer girl replied, shaking her head. "_It's not true. Ryoma-kun asked me to marry him. But…. I refused._"

"_WHY!"_

"_He doesn't love me, Tomo-chan_." Sakuno shook her head. "_And I don't love him, not anymore. I think, at that time, I was so in love with him, and maybe he loved me too. I don't know, I was too scared to ask him. You know me, I've always been so devoted to Ryoma-kun, and I didn't have the heart to hear him reject me. I was just so glad that he even offered me some sort of affection_." She wiped a strand of tears with the back of her hand. "_I just wanted to be acknowledged by him. I guess… I was desperate_."

"_Damn that Ryoma_." Tomoka laughed. "_Damn him and his good looks and tennis skills and breaking your hearts… Damnit, where does he keep the tissues in this place_?"

"_Tomo-chan, you haven't changed_."

"_And you_?"

"_He didn't ruin my life, Tomo-chan. He gave me more opportunities: for me, for Raine-Chan, for Kai-kun. And.. I don't think I would be here without here_." She raised her hand, showing the girl her engagement ring. "_See this?_"

"_Who_?" Tomoka gasped.

"_Fuji-sempai_." Sakuno smiled.

Tomoka tackled her into a hug. Neither of the girls noticed Kevin standing in the doorway to the kitchen, smiling slightly.

* * *

"You're here." Echizen grimaced, shooting his manager a look at his manager, who only smiled with a sense of amusement back at him. "You're all here. I told you not to come." 

"Stupid. Did you really think you could keep this trip back a secret?" Momoshiro locked him in a headlock, laughing.

"Ochibi! I haven't seen you in a year!" Kikumaru beamed happily, bouncing around like he did in their tennis days. "You've gotten tall. Hasn't he, Oishi!"

"Yeah." The vice-captain smiled. "It's good to have you back, Echizen, even for awhile."

"Let's go for Sushi!" Momoshiro declared! "Taka-san couldn't come because he had to look after the store! But boucho's there, and so is the viper!"

"I-"

"Just be sure not to get drunk." Chelsea grinned. "I'm going to check into the hotel now." Somehow, it seemed that she could actually understand the bond between them. Echizen nodded, watching as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the exit. Maybe it was women's intuition.

"Come on, come on!" Kikumaru urged, grabbing one of Echizen's luggage. "Let's go!"

Ryoma paused, watching his sempais chat happily amongst each other as they headed towards the exit. He promptly looked at Fuji, whose smile didn't falter at all.

"Welcome back, Echizen."

"You and-"

"Ah, so she told you."

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Never mind. Let's go. Kai-kun's waiting there, too."

* * *

**.TBC**

I want to take this time to talk about a couple of things. XD First of all, yes, I am aware of the fact that the title, **Evidentual**¸ is not actually a real vocabulary world. The closest word it comes to is probably "evidential". Why this, you ask? Well, I can be lazy to admit the fact that I was being stupid at the time when I first named this fic. But, you don't need to know that. Oh wait, you already do.

Also, I'm surprised at the number of KevRyo fans around. At first I really thought I was one of the selected few people who actually liked Kevin, for one. The interaction between the two of them just amuse me to no end.

Also, in the last scene, I was too lazy to italicize all the Japanese, because that was the only language spoken.

Okay, so some of you may have noticed "Sky" and "Kai-kun". I want to talk about this, since, if you remember correctly, "Sky" is the name of Echizen's son, Raine's twin brother. But since Japanese people have a hard time pronouncing the "S" in "Sky", they pronounce his name as "Kai". I hope you won't get confused because of since, since people will refer to him as both "Sky" and "Kai-kun", but overall they're talking about the same person.

Thank you so much for actually keeping in tract with this fic. I know I'm bad at updating, but I'm just happy that there are so many fans of the pairing around. So don't give up on and keep on reading!

Review, please?


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